Sunday, February 6, 2011

2 Hour Live Model Figurative Oil Painting Redhead

Instead of an encaustic painting, for something different this post is a 2 hour 20"x16" oil painting I did during one of the Candlelight Wine Cheese Live Model sessions held at my studio in Portland. To see a short video of one of these Candlelight sessions scroll down through my posts and you can view a video of one of the sessions. These live model events are quite fun for the artists who attend. We paint or draw from the model for 25 minute sessions with 10 minute breaks between. We bring snacks to share during the breaks while we visit with one another, and we time our sessions and breaks so we stay focused. Candles around the room provide ambiance and our great models provide the inspiration.

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About Me

Currently I am focusing on floral, bird, and landscape encaustic painting. When I do paint the female figure I focus on painting the modern but still universal and timeless woman. I primarily paint in Encaustic, which is painting with molten, pigmented beeswax. In my encaustic works I do not use photocopies or mixed media; all details are painted with layers and lines of molten, pigmented beeswax. Contact me at janetsartstudio@gmail.com.

My Encaustic Process

Beeswax and damar resin are melted and dry pigment is added for color. The tins of molten wax and colored pigment are kept in a molten state on a heated griddle. Bristle brushes are dipped into the molten wax and quickly used to paint upon the painting surface, which is usually a board such as untempered masonite, wood, or some form of art panel. Each time wax is added to the painting it must be fused into the previous layer of wax. I use a propane torch to fuse the wax. Various scrapers are used to scrape off unwanted areas of wax as the work progresses. This process is repeated many times. There are usually 20 or more layers of wax in a completed piece.